Let’s impeach the President……
But more about that later. Neil Young, one of America’s (the United States of, as it is) great songwriters has…..oh….what’s that you say? He is Canadian? Umm, ok, let me start again…..
Having lived in California much of his life although from Canada, Neil Young has always seemed, well, like one of our own. Being there in the sixties strumming along with CSN and the Buffalo Springfield, and later on his own and with Crazy Horse, the songs of Neil Young have seemed to always have a south of Canada flavor and purpose. The very names of some of his best known songs and albums, Cowgirl In The Sand, Harvest, Rockin’ In The Free World, Hawks And Doves, Down By The River, After The Gold Rush, etc, coupled with his oft times rootsy sound and style (even when cranked up with the hard rocking and hard hitting Crazy Horse) and thoughtful, conscientious lyrics bring to mind a distinctive voice which goes it's own way and follows it's own path. A person who is one might say, distinctly American. As one of his songs says “On a desert highway/ Riding a Harley-Davidson…
This, Neil Young’s most recent album in a very long line of them, will do nothing to dispel that conception (or perhaps more accurately, misconception) . With his head up the arse of this country so far I doubt if he remembers exactly where he’s from, Neil Young’s “Living With War” is a big, bold, literal, unashamed, and unabashed protest album that perhaps only an American artist of the magnitude of one Neil Young could possibly get away with……um…….what’s that again? Oh, yeah. Ok, on with the review…..
Perhaps his most vital work of the last decade, and certainly his loosest and most melodic effort since 1989’s Freedom and his collaborative work with Pearl Jam for the Mirror Ball album, Living With War was recorded simply with Neil on guitar, bassist Rick Rosas, and drummer Chad Cromwell, lending the album an earthy, down home feel, even if the production is modern and robust. Along for the ride is a 100 member choir Neil puts to good use but doesn’t bludgeon us with and an equally strong horn section. Again not to give the impression this is a lavish production, these elements are kept at a distance in the mix, yet the grander suggested comes through loud and clear in the cuts that put them to good use.
The album gets started in typical Young fashion, all dirty electric guitar, simple, loud bass, and steady drums. “Won't need no shadowman / Runnin' the government / Won't need no stinkin' war / Won't need no haircut /Won't need no shoe shine / After the garden is gone” Neil warns in this somewhat apocalyptic tale that asks “what now” once all is said and done. It’s a questioning, thought provoking tale that could be a downer if not for Neil and bands spirted upbeat playing and aforementioned choir’s uplifting and almost cheerful chorus. Neil has always had a special talent for bringing comfort through his music even when singing the most broken hearted tales of love and loss and longing, and he applies that same talent here to the lead off track that helps set the tone for the plain spoken, take no prisoners style lyrical tirades that are yet to come.
The title track of the album follows this somewhat disquieting first swing out of the gate with a hard look at accepting ones reality with out giving into it. Leading in with mournful trumpet and a hippie gentle, flower in your hair, flowing vocal style, the song suggest that although we are “living with war in our hearts” and on “the flat screen” we can still take a stand of our own. “In the crowded streets / I join the multitudes / In the mosques / And the old museum / I take a vow never to kill again” he asks of us. And while this may sound on paper to be a bit righteous and smug, once again the music and spirit of the track suggest otherwise. Using his small sounding large choir once again to hook the listener and in the end asking us to simply “try to remember peace” during our long hard day, it’s a song that seeks to help us remember that small things such as our very own thoughts and taking a simple personal stand can make a big picture difference. Not a song of defiance, but rather of the peace it suggests is possible, it’s as disarming and effective an argument for personal responsibility that has ever been put to song by this or any other artist of his generation.
Putting away the soft touches and passive, questioning tone of the first two tracks for the next couple, “Restless Consumer” and “Shock And Awe” (yes, seriously) take a hard look at our hearts and minds being bought and sold at a time of national conflict and how history might play out in the shadow of grand “mission accomplished” statements made by our leaders. Ditching his horns and choir (for the most part) Restless Consumer points an accusatory finger at those who would profit at the expense of human life and suffering while railing against the powers that be with things we “don’t need". “Don’t need no terror squad / Don’t want no damned Jihad / Blowing themselves away in my neighborhood” Young pleads, followed by “But we don’t talk to them / So we don’t learn from them/ Hate don’t negotiate with good / Don’t need no more lies”. It’s strong stuff to be sure, but the band carries the message though effortlessly and without harshness and Young’s delivery suggest he stands among us, not against us or in judgment of. Even more pointed is “Shock And Awe”, which takes a close look at recent history and suggest the victory of war promised has already been lost, or at the very least “both sides are losing” and the chance to change has gone past. “ Back in the days of mission accomplished / Our chief landed on the deck / The sun was setting on a golden photo op / Back in the days of mission accomplished”, Young sings regretfully of what feels like a long gone past, and he uses his horns and choir to back up his message with passion, grace, and just enough knowing defiance to let the listener know all is not well.
If all this sounds like political grandstanding or dogmatic sloganeering, it certainly does not come off that way on record. As said before, Young is a skilled and honest songwriter, and he is on familiar ground here both musically and lyrically. Through the strength of these ten songs, the production, sound, and craft of this recording, it works as a true album. It’s about one thing and one thing only. It never strays and never breaks into clich". No small feat for this or any other American artist of…..um…..oh yeah. I forgot. On with the review….
Reaching for the heart of the listener with the next track, “Families” is a spirited breeze of a song reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender” musically. This, the shortest song on the record, is a simple prayer of the soldier dreaming of home and those at home keeping the far off soldier in mind and in prayer. It’s a slight song that passes soon enough and serves mostly as a set up for the next track, a story driven song called “Flags Of Freedom”. Again reaching for the heart of the listener, Young brings his message home through the tale of someone’s “younger son” going to war, as seen through the eyes of his younger sister. This song takes us from Vietnam to present and asks “Have you seen the flags of freedom / What color are they now / Do you think you believe in yours / More then they believe in theirs / When you see the flags of freedom flying”. It’s a simple, almost nostalgic tale that we have seen played out countless times in film, song, and of course in real life. Here, Young packs the common tale with just enough modern imagery and references to bring it all up to date and reminds us it’s simple, hard truths are relevant no matter the era we live in. For someone most certainly always has a younger brother or son. And sometimes they are sacrificed. And so once again the listener slides into a position of knowing and understanding rather then confrontation. As mentioned earlier, this is not a work of accusatory finger pointing, but rather of simple storytelling, and the occasional swipe at the powers that be, which on this album Neil keeps far from you and me. At least far enough to point our fingers at.
So, let’s impeach the President……no I haven’t been inspired by song into such a statement, but rather the statement is the next track on the album. “Let’s Impeach The President”, as if no other title would do, this song is about just that. Rolling off a litany of President Bush’s blunders and accusing him directly of everything from abusing his power and shipping our money overseas to “breaking every law in the country tapping our computers and telephones”, and finally the ultimate hypocrisy of “cracking down on steroids / After he sold his baseball team”, this song is funny, wise, and courageous all at the same time. With a bold trumpet call leading the way, and Neil going to his choir once again, the tune plays and feels like a campfire sing along and is sure to have hippies dancing right out of their Birkenstocks all over the country. With no other then President Bush himself sampled for sound bites at the bridge while Neil and company joyously sing a chorus of “flip, flop” over some of his most conflicting and boneheaded statements,, it’s enough to probably get a chuckle or two out of even an old stodgy republican the likes of Bill ‘O Riley. Or at least John McCain. Simply brilliant.
To close this set of ten songs, Young chooses a song of change and a song of mourning to bring things full circle. “Lookin' For A Leader”, an almost urgent cry for change that names names and reminds us of our boundless potential as a people to choose wisely when we go to the polls, suggests the future is still unwritten and the tide can be turned. “Maybe it’s a woman / Or a black man after all”, Neil ponders as he wishes for one who walks with “the great spirit” to lead our nation to peace and prosperity. “Or Colin Powell” he muses “to right what he’s done wrong”. One of the more hopeful and direct cuts on the album, it manages to provoke thought and hope and an independent feeling that is often lacking in our day to day, American way of life and thinking, and it’s bold propositions stay with the listener even upon it’s end. And like so many times before he closes this album with a bit of tender nostalgia, this time one of a Vietnam vet recalling signing up with a friend of his who never made it back and was never seen again. “Trippin’ down that old hippie highway / Got thinkin’ ‘bout you again” he reminisces on the ballad “Roger And Me”, “Wonderin’ how it really was for you / And how it happened in the end”. A song about growing up together but never really completing what that suggest, it’s a sad, quiet tale of a life long brotherhood of two that was cut short at it’s earliest possible time by a war that perhaps was never meant to be for “two kids livin’ each day to day”. And it’s a fitting tale to end a provocative, promising, and bold album before a three minute rendition of a mournful and soaring “America The Beautiful” brings it all home in voice and hymn.
Living With War is an all encompassing work. Not groundbreaking musically or with anything new to say, really, it simply steps up and says what it says in plain language and in no uncertain terms. Certain to take heat from the right among us, even if not really a political work itself, it goes about it’s business with confidence and doesn’t flinch or pull a punch for the sake of polite manners or not offending. Perhaps as courageous a work as Young has ever put out in his entire career, on Living With War this fine American artist simply takes a long cold look at his country from where he stands and…..um…..oh yeah. I forgot again. He has a way of doing that, you know? Always has…..
....Nevermind....
